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Allan Fels departs the ACCC with one last swing

The World Today Archive - Monday, 30 June , 2003 12:15:58

Reporter: Alexandra Kirk

LINDA MOTTRAM: To the end he's been a controversial and outspoken competition watchdog.

On his last day in the job, Chairman of the Competition and Consumer Commission, Professor Allan Fels, has announced that the ACCC has begun legal proceedings against Woolworths and Liquorland, alleging that they engaged in anti-competitive liquor deals.

The two companies have not had an opportunity to respond yet.

After more than a decade of calling businesses to account, Professor Fels is retiring today.

His successor, Graeme Samuel, takes over the reins tomorrow as Acting Chairman, appointed by Treasurer Peter Costello in the face of continuing opposition by three states and the ACT.

Professor Fels told Alexandra Kirk in Canberra that his last day on the job is tinged with sadness.

ALLAN FELS: Yes, I'm sorry. It's been very exciting and I've had a sense of achievement in the job. But after 14 years, it's time.

It's also quite a tiring job and I'm moving to an academic position which I'm quite excited about.

ALEXANDRA KIRK: And what do you think your enduring legacy might be?

ALLAN FELS: Well to make the Trade Practices Act more effective and better known.

ALEXANDRA KIRK: Gerry Harvey, the head of Harvey Norman says you've done more harm than good. He describes you as mischievous and dangerous and claims that you've done irreparable harm to the Australian economy. Do you accept any of those criticisms?

ALLAN FELS: No I don't. But we've got a court case against him, it's in front of the Federal Court of Australia, that's what he's complaining about and let's see if the judge agrees with us.

ALEXANDRA KIRK: Do you accept the criticisms that you might have overdone it in the media stakes over time?

ALLAN FELS: No, I don't. We've been at this 14 years. It's very important that the public knows about the Act and the Commission. The public has a right to know what's going on.

In the past, the Trade Practices Act matters were dealt with behind closed doors, with powerful lobbies at work constantly undermining it.

The publicity has gained public support for the Commission, makes the work far more in their interests.

And in fact, business, or big business, because it's only big business that's complaining, not the millions of people in small business, who see us as their allies, big business has always hated the publicity, the exposure and so on, and they've been waiting for years to catch us on something.

Now, all they've come up with is that we had an unsuccessful raid on the oil companies. So what?

ALEXANDRA KIRK: That is true, isn't it, that you had the big public raid on Caltex for example, that never went anywhere?

ALLAN FELS: Well that's true, but we had to do that raid. We had serious information that needed to be followed up.

ALEXANDRA KIRK: But you didn't necessarily have to publicise it I guess is the criticism.

ALLAN FELS: Actually we didn't publicise it. The whistleblower gave the full story to the press, which ran it.

It is true, we did help if you like with the touching up of the story by cooperating in letting them take a photo of our people coming back from Caltex and we probably could have handled that matter better.

But it was very unusual because of the whistleblower's actions.

ALEXANDRA KIRK: Do you hope that your successor, Graeme Samuel, will be as outspoken as you?

ALLAN FELS: Well, that's really up to him and his style.

I believe it's worked very well in my time being outspoken, and it lifts you above the level of sorting things out in smoke-filled rooms where the big lobbies will always win and the public will always lose.

ALEXANDRA KIRK: Now you end your term with a very public action today, and that is instituting legal action against Woolworths and Liquorland. You don't think in hindsight, this will be seen as another shot at having a very high media profile?

ALLAN FELS: This case may get publicity, but we've been working on it for quite a long time, and I and others who have been involved in every one of the complex details and we were ready to go, we were ready to go, I admit, two or three days ago.

ALEXANDRA KIRK: So is it just coincidence that it happens to be your last day then?

ALLAN FELS: We did want to have this out before I left because of our involvement in the case and so on, but there are plenty of other very good cases in the pipeline.

LINDA MOTTRAM: That's the outgoing ACCC Chairman, Professor Allan Fels, on his last day in the job speaking to Alexandra Kirk in Canberra, and a Spokesman for Woolworths says the company is not commenting at this stage.